Trump launches re-election campaign,
presents himself as outsider and victim
Send a link to a friend
[June 19, 2019]
By Steve Holland
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - President Donald
Trump formally launched his 2020 re-election campaign on Tuesday by
presenting himself as the same political insurgent who shook up the
Washington establishment four years ago and who is now a victim of an
attempted ouster by Democrats.
At a packed rally at an arena in Orlando, Florida, Trump made clear he
would run for re-election as an outsider, just as he did in 2016.
Whether he can pull it off remains far from certain as Trump has been in
office now for 2-1/2 years.
He revisited campaign themes from four years ago, decrying illegal
immigration, the news media and his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary
Clinton.
"Together we stared down a broken political establishment and we
restored government by and for the people," Trump said. "As long as you
keep this team in place, we have a tremendous way to go. Our future has
never looked brighter or sharper."
Trump said his Democratic challengers would radically change the United
States and seek to legalize migrants coming across the southern border
so they could vote and boost the Democratic political base.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Jun/19/images/ads/current/graue_19_sonic_050719.png)
Democrats "want to destroy our country as we know it" and that it's "not
going to happen," Trump said.
"We believe our country should be a sanctuary for law-abiding citizens,
not for criminal aliens," he said.
Two dozen Democrats are competing for their party's nomination to face
off against Trump in the November 2020 election. Many of the top
Democrats lead Trump in opinion polls in battleground states.
Trump called his opponents a "radical left-wing mob" who would bring
socialism to the United States.
"A vote for any Democrat in 2020 is a vote for the rise of radical
socialism and the destruction of the American dream," he said.
AIRING GRIEVANCES
Trump made his re-election launch official at what was his 60th
political rally since he took office in January 2017. He brought his
wife, Melania, and a large contingent of senior White House staff.
“Tonight I stand before you to officially launch my campaign for a
second term as president of the United States," Trump said. "I promise
you I will never ever let you down."
Over the course of a speech that lasted an hour and 20 minutes, Trump
blasted the news media as "fake news," took credit for a strong economy,
said he was putting the heat on China on trade, promoted his proposal
for a "space force," vowed to protect Americans' rights to own guns and
said he wanted to launch a space mission to Mars.
Trump also declared himself a victim and aired his grievances.
He made an issue of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into
Russian interference in the 2016 election. The probe found insufficient
evidence to establish that the Trump campaign engaged in a criminal
conspiracy with Moscow. It also described numerous attempts by Trump to
impede Mueller's probe, but stopped short of declaring that he committed
a crime.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/061919pics/news_n17.jpg)
President Donald Trump and press secretary Sarah Sanders hug at a
campaign kick off rally at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida,
U.S., June 18, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
"We went through the biggest witch hunt in political history," said
Trump. "It was all an illegal attempt to overturn the results of the
election."
Two-and-a-half years into his tenure, Trump sees plenty of positive
factors, led by a growing economy with low unemployment.
"If the economy stays strong, he is very likely to get re-elected,"
said Trump confidant Newt Gingrich, a former Republican speaker of
the U.S. House of Representatives.
But the lingering aftermath of the Russia probe, coupled with a
presidential style marked by name-calling and eye-popping tweets,
has undermined some Americans' confidence in Trump.
He also has stirred division with his hard-line policies on
immigration and unsettled business and farm groups with his use of
tariffs in trade disputes with China and some allies.
Democrats cite a string of broken promises in Trump's first term,
from lowering drug prices to closing corporate tax loopholes and
stopping plant closures.
"Donald Trump is launching his campaign for re-election tonight and
the American people face a choice - we can make Trump an aberration
or let him fundamentally and forever alter the character of this
nation," said Kate Bedingfield, deputy campaign manager for
Democratic front-runner Joe Biden.
POLLING CONCERNS
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on June 11 gave Trump a 40% job approval
rating, compared with 57% who disapproved. Other opinion polls have
shown him running consistently behind his main Democratic
challengers, such as Biden, in key battleground states.
Republican strategists say the fundamentals favor Trump as he heads
into his election but that he faces challenges given his
bare-knuckled approach, which he refuses to temper.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Jun/19/images/ads/current/garage_sale_lda_2019.png)
The Orlando Sentinel welcomed the president's visit with an
editorial titled: "Our endorsement for president in 2020: Not Donald
Trump."
Trump supporters with tents and sleeping bags started camping out at
the rally venue on Monday and thousands had gathered by Tuesday
afternoon in a torrential downpour. "It was like a big Trump party,"
said Maureen Bailey, who slept in a tent with her twin sister,
Laureen Vartanian.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in
Washington and Carlo Allegri in Orlando; Editing by Bill Trott and
Peter Cooney)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |